Highway sign controversy takes another bizarre twist: Editorial

A USA TODAY Network review of 3,000 pages of contracting documents shows the state paid extra and used emergency contracts to get the tourism-related highway signs up by July 4.
Jon Campbell / Albany Bureau

A total of 514 signs — including these "motherboard" signs — are located across New York state. The Federal Highway Administration wants a proposal to resolve dispute over the signs. This sign is on Interstate 90 near Schenectady, N.Y.(Photo: Jon Campbell, USA TODAY Network-New York)

Those following closely had to realize there would be at least one more crazy twist in the verbal brawl between New York and federal officials over what are appropriate highway signs.

Despite warnings from the federal government, state officials installed the “offending” signs in 2016 and could be out $14 million in highway money if they are not removed by the end of this month.

The state really wanted to post these signs. So much, in fact, that the state Department of Transportation was willing to use emergency highway contracts -- shelling out thousands of dollars in overtime costs as a result -- to get most of them up led before the July 4 weekend in 2016. By the project’s end, the state Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority had spent $8.1 million, or about $15,500 for each sign.

Yet, all along, the U.S. Highway Administration officials have repeatedly said the approximate 500 signs violated federal law. The Love NY highway signs have been posted in groups of five -- a “motherboard” followed by signs touting attractions, places to eat and drink and recreation. Federal officials say this clustering contains contain so much information that drivers could become distracted. They also say in some cases the signs are too big and offer no navigational information. The Gov. Andrew Cuomo administration has retorted that the signs are part of a broader tourism strategy that has paid dividends for New York.

While this sounds like a big, broad fight, the USA Today Network’s Albany Bureau has dug through some emails and draft proposals to get a glimpse of how small-minded the behind-the-scenes negotiations have been about this.

They show the disagreement has focused on a single italicized word on the signs – the final word of the phrase “The New York State Experience.” The state wants to keep it in italics, but the federal regulators say it affects a driver’s ability to comprehend the sign at highway speeds.

So add that to this bizarre story: The federal “font police” have arrived.

Cuomo’s administration has proposed taking down the roughly 400 smaller signs but wants the federal government to allow more than 100 motherboard signs across the state. That seems like a reasonable compromise. Neither side has looked particularly responsible during this flare-up. Both sides should look for a fitting way out.

Opinion Engagement Editor John Penney wrote this editorial on behalf of The Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board. Email him at jpenney@gannett.com; follow him on Twitter at @johnpenneynews